Chapter 36 Hidden Identity

Chapter 36 Hidden Identity
Dane shoved Tessa away, toward the door, then hurried off to follow Bogen. Her wet shoes skidded across the floor, nearly causing her to lose her balance. God, what was happening? What had she done?
"We've kept our end of the deal," the voice outside warned. "Send out the hostage, or we move in."
It was over.

Trembling, Tessa walked toward the door, opening it without looking back and stepping onto the porch. The rain fell in torrents, pushed by the wind. Blinding lights greeted her, forcing her to shield her eyes. She heard a sharp metallic 'clack' as someone chambered a round. Her knees buckled. What if they shot her? How could Dane do this to her? She started to turn away, to run back in the house, when a voice called out. "It's okay, ma'am. Just walk straight ahead."
Tessa was crying now, frightened. When she cleared the steps, the man rushed forward, throwing a heavy vest on her.
"FBI, ma'am. It's bulletproof."
Tessa didn't catch his name. He tugged the vest in place, shoving her head down as he hurried her away from the house. "Don't let it worry you."

The night came alive with activity. Grim-looking men and women-some uniformed, some not-swarmed over the clearing and the surrounding woods. All carried shotguns. Two officers hustled her into a waiting car, well away from the house. One of them ducked his head into the car, oblivious to the water pouring in with him, peppering her with questions.
"How many other hostages are inside? How many men are guarding them? Did you see what kind of weapons they had?"
Tessa blinked. "I, I was the only hostage. I saw four men in the house, but... there could be more." Dane, forgive me. "And they all had machine guns."
Before she finished, gunshots echoed through the night.
"Stay down," the man yelled, shoving her onto the floorboard. She buried her head on her knees as the gunfire escalated and grew deafening, covering her cries.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Someone yelled, headlights came on, and people rushed about. "We'll get you out of here soon, ma'am," the man promised before hurrying away. "I'll be right back."
A loud rumble of thunder boomed, echoing like a cannon shot. Deadly.
"We need an ambulance at the back of the house!" A voice came across the two-way radio in the front seat, causing her to stiffen. Dane.
A vision of him lying on the ground, covered in blood, flashed through her mind, quickly followed by the picture of him yelling at her. You mean nothing to me.
She looked down at the leather jacket she wore, remembered how he'd wrapped her in it before leaving the house, assuring her comfort over his. Or so she'd thought. She hid her face in her hands, felt bile burn her throat. Sobs wracked her body. This couldn't be happening.

The car door was wrenched open, startling Tessa. A tall, middle-aged man in a dark trench coat smiled at her, his kind eyes staring out from behind the rain-spattered glasses.
"I'm Barry Neilson, FBI Washington." He reached down, squeezing her cold hand. "Are you okay, Miss Monroe?"
Tessa shook her head, moving to get out of the close confines of the car despite the rain. Standing, she gulped in the night air, resting her head on the metal doorframe. Nothing made sense.
"I keep thinking this is a dream." She was crying again, tears slipping free even though she kept her eyes tightly shut. "That I'll wake up and none of this will be true."
"It's not a dream, Tessa."

The sound of Dane's voice had her head snapping up. She blinked in disbelief as she saw him move in beside Neilson, calmly offering her a white foam cup with what smelled like coffee, rain sheeting off the dark slicker he wore. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. She launched herself into his arms, weeping. "Oh my God, you're alive! I was so afraid..."
Behind her, she heard Barry cough. "Tessa Monroe, may I introduce a colleague, Gareth Thomas."
Colleague?
Removing her hands from around Dane, Tessa backed away, looking from Barry to Dane. Wait a minute....
How did Barry know her name? And why was Dane here? Why wasn't he with Bogen and the others? Handcuffed or being held, prisoner...
Tessa glanced at the badge hanging from Barry's neck, and then her eyes caught the identical one hanging from Dane's.

Pulse pounding loudly in her ears, Tessa shook her head, trying to clear the mist of confusion and denial.
"I can see that the two of you need to talk. Excuse me." Barry backed away, bending into the crush of people.
But his words crashed about in Tessa's mind. He called Dane....Gareth. Gareth Thomas. Something was terribly wrong here. "Dane, I don't..."
Ignoring the rain, he pulled her through the mud toward the rear of the squad car, trying to find a more private spot.
"It's Gareth, sweetheart, and I'm sorry to have duped you, Tessa."
She stared at the badge hanging around his neck. "FBI?" she questioned, never taking her eyes off him. Dane was an FBI agent. Dane's name was actually Gareth. Gareth Thomas
It felt like she'd been slapped. Hard.

Rage exploded in her head as the implication dawned on her, crystalline clear, leaving her feeling betrayed. Violated. Sweet Jesus. She'd slept with the man, all the while thinking he was a gangster. All the while thinking she cared for him? A part of her had nearly died at the thought he'd been injured earlier. And before that, when he'd forced her to leave the house, her heart had broken. She hadn't wanted freedom then. She'd wanted to stay with him, even when he'd pushed her away.
What the hell was wrong with her?!

Gareth moved closer, watching the confusion, the fury, play across her face. He knew the news was a terrible shock. He desperately needed to talk to her alone, to explain, to reassure. And to make sure that she knew which parts of the whole charade were real and which weren't. Christ, he needed to figure that out himself. This was unfamiliar territory.
Tessa shoved her hair from her eyes, her voice trembling. "You knew how terrified I was. And you had the power to take all that fear away --- at any time!"
He squeezed her shoulders lightly. "I was afraid you would act differently if you knew the truth. If Bogen or Snake had even suspected you weren't afraid, you could have been in even more danger."
"So you used me?" Tessa stared at him with accusing eyes rimmed with more unshed tears.
He couldn't deny it."Ten other women were being held captive that we couldn't account for. Would you have sacrificed them for your own state of mind?"
"Of course not! Did I come off as that selfish to you?" She stepped away, shrugging free of his touch. There had been other women being held captive? It would have been comforting to know she wasn't alone. "If you had given me a choice, I would have played along. Helped you."
"I didn't need help. I needed to keep you safe."

His statement appalled her with its sheer male arrogance.
"You didn't have to sleep with me to do that."
"You're right. I didn't have to. I wanted to. Just give me a chance to explain, and I think when you hear the whole story, you'll understand."
"Understand?"
Oh, she understood perfectly. Forgiving was another matter entirely.
She turned away, unable to face him as every little nuance of hr captivity replayed in her head. He had deliberately misled her and manipulated her trust. He could have spared her a lot of distress and a load of angst when she believed herself to be infatuated with an outlaw. God, how foolish must he think she was.

Once more, his hand closed over her shoulder, turning her back to him
"Tessa, please say something, sweetheart."
Sweetheart? How dare he patronize her now? Stepping back, she clenched her fist, hating what he'd done. The grief he'd caused. Worst, he'd stolen her heart, then trampled it. Just as he'd stolen her innocence. Her outrage swelled. Exploded.
"Bastard!" she hissed. Then she slugged him in the face with every bit of strength she possessed, sending him sprawling backward into the mud.